Judge with no Penn State ties to preside over hearing

A senior district judge with no known ties to Penn State University has been appointed to preside over a hearing for accused child molester and former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, state authorities said Wednesday.

Robert Scott is a senior judge in Westmoreland County. His appointment follows a request from Centre County Court, where Penn State is located, for an out-of-county judicial assignment.

The judge who allowed Sandusky to go free on $100,000 bond after his arrest on Nov. 5 had been a volunteer for The Second Mile, the charity Sandusky founded.

Additionally, campaign finance reports show that a 2007 fundraiser for Judge Leslie Dutchot was hosted at the home of a chairperson for the charity while she was running for office. The event netted $1,463.

Scott "has no known connections with the Pennsylvania State University, The Second Mile charity, nor any officers or representatives of any of those entities," the administrative office of Pennsylvania Courts said in a statement.

A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 7 for Sandusky, who is charged with sexually abusing eight boys over a period of nearly 15 years. He has denied the charges.

— Reuters and John L. Micek,

The Morning Call

Penn State can't keep Sandusky off campus

Penn State said Wednesday that Sandusky is "not welcome" on campus, although the university has no legal recourse to keep him away.

In her bail ruling, Dutchot ordered Sandusky not to have any contact with minors, witnesses or alleged victims. The ruling placed no restrictions on travel. Sandusky's lawyer, Joe Amendola, advised Sandusky and his wife to take a trip before the next legal proceeding to clear his head, he told CNN.

In effect, Sandusky, who retired from Penn State in 1999 and receives a pension from the state, is free to return to campus, something school officials are powerless to stop.

"Our legal counsel informed Jerry Sandusky that he is not welcome on our campus," Penn State spokeswoman AnneMarie Mountz said in an email Wednesday.

— Reuters

$3 million state grantto Second Mile being held

PHILADELPHIA — The state has put on hold a $3 million state grant that was earmarked for a youth charity established by the former Penn State assistant football coach at the heart of a child molestation scandal.

Gov. Tom Corbett said he knew Sandusky was gone from the organization when the grant was approved earlier this year. He also defended the decision to approve the grant while knowing about the child molestation allegations against Sandusky.

Eric Shirk, a spokesman for Corbett, said Wednesday the grant had been frozen "pending further review."

— The Associated Press and John L. Micek, The Morning Call

Abuse reports increase since scandal became public

In the wake of allegations of sexual abuse at Penn State, child protective services agencies across the country have seen a significant increase in the number of unrelated child abuse reports. Northampton County's Division of Children, Youth and Families is no different.

"All the experts have said whenever you have a prominent case like this it is likely to lead to reports of more cases and we are definitely seeing that," said Human Services Director Ross Marcus, whose two brothers attended the university.

Through Nov. 14, the office received 38 reports, which would put them on pace for a monthly total of 76. The last time that many calls were fielded was early 2010, Marcus said.

"Some of the calls were directly related to what people had been hearing about Penn State," he said. "There were a couple of people who were adults who called in to report child abuse involving themselves when they were children."